This fast move has happened for two reasons, Samsung needs to compete more heavily against camera phones like the Xperia Z1 and Nokia Lumia 1020 and the manufacturer has been creating different sensors for their camera, almost all around the 16MP range.
The Galaxy S5 should still be Samsung’s main flagship for the year – this will come with a 16MP ISOCELL sensor, capable of wide dynamic range and auto-focus. The ISOCELL technology is also capable of grabbing incredible shots in low light, it works similar to the Nokia Lumia 1020.
Samsung cameras have always been hit-and-miss, the Galaxy S4 had a pretty impressive sensor but it failed in low light and would produce average photos. The push for extra megapixels is great but we hope Samsung work on the software and speed on the camera, to make it a better experience.
This is not the only thing Samsung is promising in the next few years, the company is looking to add a new 64bit ARM octa-core processor by next year onto the Galaxy S5 and have a 2K screen (2650 x 1600) by the end of 2014, moving to a 4K screen by 2015.
Samsung has always worked on power and raw benchmarks, the polar opposite of their main competitor Apple, who have been trying to blend hardware, software and services in a cheaper and less powerful package, with optimisation to keep it competitive against Samsung.
The South Korean manufacturer has surpassed Apple in terms of sales but they do sell a lot more smartphones, the Galaxy S4 has almost surpassed the iPhone 5 in sales, but we will have to wait until the Galaxy S5 is announced to see who is the true winner.